Whether you’re a permanent coastal resident or beach house owner looking to try aluminum windows, know that it will significantly impact your living experience. My coastal area experiences include erratic weather, costly mistakes, and intelligent decision-making that saved me time and money. So, are aluminum windows suitable for coastal areas?
Aluminum windows are suitable for coastal areas because they are rust-resistant, corrosion-resistant, and they don’t suffer from insects, termites, or scratches. They conduct heat and cold well, and their thermal break prevents heat from entering during summer and cold entering during the winter.
Aluminum windows are an excellent choice for coastal areas because their flexibility and strength help them adapt to fluctuating weather conditions. Let’s explore their durability, affordability, aesthetic appeal, and the qualities that make them an ideal choice for living in a coastal area.
Are Aluminum Windows Suitable For Coastal Areas?
Corrosion from the salt in the air and the widely varying weather conditions in coastal areas can be tricky to manage without the proper know-how. So, what about aluminum windows?
Aluminum Is More Modern Today Than Previous Years
Nothing stays the same, and the same principle applies to finding new and improved methods for constructing windows. Aluminum is a highly conductive material, and modern aluminum has used this feature to create a truly spectacular innovation. The old-school aluminum material found in your house today can hardly live up to modern aluminum standards.
Any old aluminum windows in your house are most likely single-pane or metal-on-metal, and it doesn’t open and close properly. In fact, it may even have a nasty habit of allowing all the cold in and the heat out during the summer – aluminum has never been considered an efficient house material.
If you were to buy aluminum windows in a northern climate and you work up the courage to lick a pole on a frosty evening, you’ll soon live to regret it. Your tongue would stick because aluminum is an excellent conductor of heat and cold, which is why aluminum products tend to be an inefficient alternative.
However, modern thermally-improved aluminum is highly efficient at managing hot and cold climates. Today’s aluminum frames have a “thermal break” between the inside and outside of the frame made from polyurethane.
It serves as a binder between the inside and outside, blocking cold and heat from escaping. In other words, aluminum windows allow coastal interiors to stay cool in the summer by preventing heat from coming in, while keeping it warm by preventing cold air from entering during winter.
Aluminum windows are growing in popularity, and it’s not hard to see why; it’s durable, exceptionally strong, rot-resistant, and rust-resistant, among other things. If you hold the windowpane vertically, you can get a good view of thermal break – the wider it is, the more efficient the frame will be at handling temperatures.
Why Would A Coastal Resident Need Aluminum Windows?
Let’s look at why coastal areas would benefit from aluminum windows and how it could be a wise, worthwhile investment.
The Color Black
The option to choose a black aluminum frame can significantly impact the aesthetic appeal of your coastal home. Aluminum is inherently beautiful in black, especially if you’re aiming for a black and white theme.
If you have a vinyl window, it will be pigmented – not black. It requires that you paint the vinyl black or do a capstock over it to make it black. Since black windows are becoming more popular, most people looking for black window frames opt for an aluminum product instead.
Aluminum Windows Have An Anodized Finish
Anodizing is a technique for thickening the natural oxide coating on the surface of metal components. It helps protect the metal against scratches and climate and weather impacts, particularly in coastal areas. It’s also entirely rust-resistant, meaning the salt in the air won’t eat away hungrily at the window frames.
It creates an organic, natural finish that is substantially more robust than windows with a powdered, painted, or cap-stocked finish. Furthermore, there are different anodized colors to choose from; clear anodized frames have a silver appeal, while black anodized frames are black, and a dark brown is also an option.
Aluminum Is Exceptionally Durable
Coastal areas have a lot of moisture in the air because they’re near the ocean. Aluminum windows can stand the test of time because it’s rot-resistant, and you won’t need to worry about termites or insects. However, aluminum windows won’t warp – expand or contract – meaning they last for years and are also low maintenance on the upkeep.
Compared to wood and vinyl windows, aluminum comes out on top as the most robust material for windows, even competing with fiberglass.
How Do You Protect Aluminum Windows From Saltwater?
In the presence of salts, all metals will corrode. Although aluminum does not rust like steel, it will acquire a chalky layer and pitting in the metal surface if exposed to salt over an extended length of time.
A buffing wheel will assist in eliminating oxidation from the aluminum surface if it has been there for an extended period. It’s necessary to apply a protective coating to the metal and maintain it to prevent corrosive effects throughout time.
Self-etching primers give a suitable substrate for paint since aluminum does not retain paint well. Powder coating, for example, electrostatically deposits color to the surface combined with a resin to boost its durability. Inspect the aluminum windows for signs of corrosion regularly to ensure that any damage to the surface coating gets repaired as soon as possible.
After being exposed to salt or seawater, rinse the metal with ordinary water. On the metal, avoid using acid cleansers and abrasive chemicals or items that will harm the protective layer. Salt will enter the metal surface if the coating is damaged.
Conclusion
Aluminum’s rust-resistant and corrosion-resistant properties alone make it an excellent choice for coastal areas. It’s also highly durable, looks great, and modern aluminum is excellent at keeping summers cool and winters warm. Furthermore, it’s affordable and does not require a lot of maintenance.
Sources
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZHb1C5I_tk&ab_channel=HoustonWindowExperts
- 1https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xl_B9W5RIgA&ab_channel=EngineeringMotive
- https://www.hunker.com/12608220/what-stops-existing-salt-corrosion-on-aluminum
